Officers with the Red Oak Police Department, Thursday, arrested 31-year-old Cody Thomas Thramer, of Red Oak. He was taken into custody on a valid Pottawattamie County warrant for Contempt of Court/ Failure to Pay Child Support.

Thramer was transported to the Pottawattamie County Jail where he was being held without bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s current governor and South Carolina’s former governor railed at Biden Administration policies as they rallied with Iowa Republicans at a party fundraiser in West Des Moines last (Thursday) night.  Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said at the event, “There are a lot of reasons why I love Iowa, but maybe the biggest reason is Iowa loves to elect bad ass Republican women.”

Haley, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, resigned as South Carolina’s governor to serve as President Trump’s first United Nations Ambassador. Haley’s criticism of President Biden’s foreign policy and domestic agenda drew cheers and she mentioned Trump’s plan to visit the U-S/Mexican border next week.  “Thank goodness for Donald Trump or we would never have gotten Kamala to the border,” Haley said. “…If this is how she handles a crisis, God helps us if she ever becomes president.”

On Thursday afternoon, Governor Kim Reynolds announced she was sending up to 30 state troopers to Texas and Arizona to help with border security for two weeks. “Biden has failed America with the open border policy,” Reynolds said. “…He owns this. He can stop it tomorrow. Because he’s not, states are stepping up across this country to say: ‘Enough is enough. They’re not doing what they should be doing…and we’re all paying a price because of it.'”

Earlier this year, Haley said she was disgusted by the January 6th attack on the U-S Capitol and said Trump had gone down the wrong path in questioning the outcome of the 2020 election. Last (Thursday) night, Haley made no mention of those reservations and she praised Reynolds for signing election law changes.  “Real reforms that make Iowa’s elections safer and more secure. Every state should follow Iowa’s lead and they should do it before 2022,” Haley said, to applause.

Later, Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann asked Haley whether the 2024 presidential nominating process should start in Iowa.  “I’m fine with Iowa being First in the Nation as long as you keep South Carolina First in the South Primary,” Haley said, adding: “You mess with us, we’ll mess with you.” Kaufmann replied: “Message received.” The annual spring fundraiser for the party was held as congress was in session, so the five Iowa Republicans serving in the U.S. House and Senate recorded video messages that were played for the crowd.

Senator Chuck Grassley, who has not yet announced whether he’ll seek reelection in 2022, said he’s visited 77 of Iowa’s 99 counties so far this year. “I’m working as hard as ever for the people of Iowa,” Grassley said. His grandson Pat Grassley, the speaker of the Iowa House, spoke in person to the crowd a few minutes later. “How many of you want to see Chuck Grassley reelected to the United States Senate?” Pat Grassley asked and the crowd reacted. “…I told him I’m going to be his number one cheerleader between now until his reelection.”

At the end of the evening, former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad scoffed at the idea Iowans would choose someone new rather than Grassley in 2022. “The people of Iowa know that Chuck Grassley is the hardest working, most conscientious senator,” Branstad said, to loud cheers from the crowd. About 500 people attended last night’s Iowa G-O-P fundraiser.

The Iowa Democratic Party held a virtual fundraiser earlier this month. .

DES MOINES, Iowa, June 24, 2021 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Acting State Director in Iowa Darin Leach today (Thursday) announced that USDA is investing $413,200 to equip, rebuild, and modernize essential services in rural areas throughout Iowa. The investments will benefit nearly 30,000 rural residents.

USDA is investing in eight projects in Iowa through the Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program to ensure residents in rural areas enjoy the same quality of life and services as those in urban areas. Among them:

• Southwest Iowa Families, Inc. is receiving a $50,000 grant to purchase furnishings and equipment for a public use facility that provides essential medical services for nearly 4,500 rural residents.
• The Corning Opera House Cultural Center is receiving a $24,900 grant to build gutters on the exterior of the building to ensure that the restored historical facility remains structurally sound for public use.
• The Shenandoah Medical Center is receiving a $50,000 grant to purchase a new four-wheel-drive ambulance to replace a vehicle in the existing fleet with high mileage.
• The City of Atlantic is receiving a $26,300 grant to purchase new flooring, computer tables, a standing computer table and new computers and printers for the public library.

Today’s investments are in coordination with USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson’s recent announcement that USDA is investing $185 million to equip, rebuild, and modernize essential services in rural areas of 32 states, benefiting 3 million rural residents.  More than 100 types of projects are eligible for Community Facilities funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes. Projects must be in rural areas with a population of 20,000 or less.

For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/ia or call (515) 284-4663. Follow us on Twitter @RD_Iowa.

DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Thursday (today) announced that Iowa State Patrol officers will be deployed to the U.S. Southern Border to aid law enforcement and border security efforts. The governor is responding to a request from Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).  She says “My first responsibility is to the health and safety of Iowans and the humanitarian crisis at our nation’s southern border is affecting all 50 states. The rise in drugs, human trafficking, and violent crime has become unsustainable. Iowa has no choice but to act, and it’s why I am honoring Texas’ Emergency Management Assistance Compact following assurances from the Iowa Department of Public Safety that it will not compromise our ability to provide all necessary public safety services to Iowans.”

In May, there were roughly 180,000 border encounters, a 20 year high. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in March of 2021 there was a 233% increase in fentanyl seizures from the previous year. In May, that year over year increase climbed to 300%. In Iowa, law enforcement officials are recovering drugs, illegal narcotics, and weapons being smuggled across the nation’s southern border by drug cartels.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, in the first quarter of 2021, Iowa saw the highest amounts of methamphetamine seized in any one quarter since 2018. Compare that to May of 2020 when both the purity and seizure of methamphetamine dropped significantly when the border was completely closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As for Fentanyl, Iowa saw 532 grams seized in January – May of 2020. Over that same time period in 2021, roughly 6,641 grams of Fentanyl was seized, an increase of roughly 1,148%.

The Iowa National Guard (ING) is also currently conducting a mission with 24 soldiers from the Unit 2/34 IBCT to assist law enforcement agencies at the southern border, per an October 2020 request from the federal government under Title 10 active duty mobilization orders.  On June 10, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey formally requested law enforcement support from all 50 states. This request was made through Iowa’s existing EMAC, a national interstate mutual aid agreement that enables states to share resources during a disaster. More information about EMAC can be found here.

The state of Iowa joins Florida, Nebraska, and Idaho, in sending law enforcement to the southern border to assist Texas and Arizona.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a deal to buy Covid-19 test kits that can be used by Iowans at home, but a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health says details of how to get those kits will be released in the coming weeks. The governor told reporters she signed the contract to buy the test kits on Tuesday. “So they will be in place as we phase out Test Iowa, which our numbers are just down to nothing right now,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds did not disclose the purchase price. The first drive through Test Iowa sites were established in late April of last year as Covid cases began to spike here. By THIS spring, just five state-run testing sites remained. The Council Bluffs site closed yesterday (Wednesday).The site in Cedar Rapids will close at the end of testing late this (Thursday) afternoon and the Waterloo Test Iowa location is closing Friday at 4 p.m. On Friday, July 16th, the final two locations in Davenport and Des Moines will close for good. The governor says the State Hygienic Lab will be involved in distributing the at home test kits for Covid 19.

“They’ll be available for anyone and there’s no preconceived conditions that quality and so we’re just moving to a better system to implement with the numbers that are going down with Test Iowa,” Reynolds says. “It doesn’t make sense to keep that infrastructure in place.”

One-hundrd-10 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed by tests reported to the state yesterday (Wednesday) and about 47 percent of eligible Iowans are fully vaccinated. In some rural counties, fewer than one in three residents are vaccinated and some medical professionals fear more contagious variants of the virus may already be circulating. Reynolds says a majority of Iowa adults statewide have had at least one dose of vaccine and she does not plan to offer the kind of incentives or prizes governors in some other states are offering to fully vaccinated residents. “We’re doing well,” Reynolds says. “I’m really proud of where we’re at and we’re just going to continue to talk about the importance of it.”

Iowa’s vaccination rate ranks 22nd among the states, with more than one-point-four million Iowans fully vaccinated according to the state’s website.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports five recent arrests and two accidents of interest.

• On a little before 1-a.m. Wednesday, June 23rd, 29-year-old Keith Patrick Schreck, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at Ebaugh and Locust Avenues. Schreck was taken into custody for two counts Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Institution. His bond was set at $7,000.
• Tuesday evening, 34-year-old William Dean Meredith, of Glenwood, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $2,000.
• On Sunday, June 20th…36-year-old Clifford Duane Doyle, of Glenwood, was arrested at a residence on Garfield Lane, for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held in the Mills County Jail without bond; At around 5:15-a.m. Sunday, 21-year-old Major Alexander Fisher, of Tabor, was arrested at a location on Nims Road in Mills County, on charges that include Obstruction of Emergency Communications, False Report in a 911 call, and Interference with Official Acts; and, at around 2-a.m. Sunday, 46-year-old David James Duncan, of Glenwood, was arrested in the area of 225th and Gillens Court, for Assault/Willful Injury. His bond was set at $5,000.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says also, a Shenandoah woman suffered minor injuries early Tuesday morning, when the 2015 Buick she was driving struck a deer on southbound Highway 59. 65-year-old Jo Beck was transported by Malvern Rescue to the Shenandoah Hospital. On June 18th, the operator of a 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle, 33-year-old Dustin Barrett, of Nebraska City, NE., suffered unknown injuries, after the cycle went through a T-intersection, and into a corn field. The accident happened at around 9:50-p.m. at the intersection of 315th Street and Gaston Avenue.

Authorities say Barrett was northbound on 315th and approaching the intersection with Gaston Avenue. Due to the darkness, and his unfamiliarity with the area, Barrett didn’t know he was approaching the T-intersection, and was unable to stop in-time. He refused medical treatment at the scene. The motorcycle was determined to be a total loss.

The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus Dashboard, Thursday morning, indicated there were 62 additional, positive cases of COVID-19 over the previous 24-hours, for a pandemic total of 404, 132. There were three additional deaths reported, for a statewide pandemic total at 6,120. Deaths at Iowa’s Long-Term Care facilities since the start of the pandemic, amount to 2,372.

Long-Term Care (LTC) facility outbreak data is essentially unchanged since Wednesday. Officials say there are a total of 26 positive cases among patients and staff at two facilities, and 11 persons who have recovered. Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate is steady at 2.1%. The seven-day positivity rate is also 2.1%.

There are a total of 57 Iowans hospitalized with COVID (Statewide). Health officials report 20 patients are in an ICU; seven COVID patients were admitted to a hospital, and 12 patients are on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (hospitals in western & southwest Iowa), there is just one person hospitalized with COVID-19, and one person in an ICU.

In the immediate KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County (since the beginning of the pandemic) and the total number of deaths (Since the beginning of the pandemic) in each county to date:
Cass, 1,478 cases; 55 deaths
Adair, 996; 32
Adams, 356; 4
Audubon, 553; 11
Guthrie, 1,318; 32
Harrison County, 1,936; 73
Madison County, 1,790 19
Mills County, 1,808; 24
Montgomery, 1,116; 38
Pottawattamie County, 12,369;174
Shelby County, 1,379; 37
Union County, 1,382; 35

(Ames, Iowa/Iowa DOT News) – It’s not unusual to travel down an Iowa interstate alongside a semi loaded with livestock or poultry. Easy access to world-class transportation and an abundance of corn and soybeans grown here make Iowa ideally suited for raising these animals. What we don’t often see, but can be a real issue, is the aftermath when one of these livestock trucks crashes, tying up a busy highway for hours, delaying your trip and increasing the risk of secondary crashes in the area. The more people you have at a crash scene, the higher the risk.  These types of crashes often require the assistance of animal handlers and veterinarians who aren’t used to being alongside a busy highway in a stressful situation.

Other unusual tasks such as rounding up loose animals and constructing temporary holding pens may be needed and cause additional delays and complications at the crash site. If the first responders are not trained in how to deal with traffic crashes involving livestock, the risk to the people at the scene, the animals, and drivers near the incident increases. To help educate responders, the Iowa Pork Producers Association developed a webinar series highlighting specific challenges when a livestock carrier is involved in a crash. Jamee Eggers from the Iowa Pork Producers Association explained why the training was initiated.  “We recognized that crashes, especially roll-over crashes that involve livestock, can impact both public safety and animal welfare,” she said. “We developed this series that includes topics like animal handling and scene management to help responders understand what they might encounter. First responders aren’t typically trained animal handlers and animal handlers don’t typically understand traffic incident management. The more we can educate first responders on what to expect and who to contact, the safer we’ll all be in the event of an incident.”

(Photo via IADOT, courtesy Hitz Towing)

Because these incidents don’t happen regularly, Eggers said there really are no trends or consistency in response. “It’s particularly important in these types of crashes that responders have relationships with animal handlers and veterinarians so they can reach out quickly. Finding rescue trailers and other equipment is another topic we touch on in the series.” Bonnie Castillo who works with traffic incident management for the Iowa Department of Transportation said, “From a road user perspective, the cost of these incidents is very high because they often take several hours to clear. Much of that time is spent trying to find the resources to provide care for the animals involved. If we can get the word out to responders on who to contact, that will speed up clearance times, reducing the inconvenience and increasing safety to the other drivers on the road.” Castillo continued, “The responders are very well trained on dealing with human crash victims, but not necessarily livestock and especially animals that may be injured. Since these types of crashes tend to take hours to be removed, it’s critical that responders know who to call to care for the livestock that are involved, but also maintain the safety and  security of the crash scene.”

Bringing people to crash scenes who don’t have experience in traffic incident management or chain-of-command can be a challenge in and of itself. “In one of the sessions we go over basic scene management and chain-of-command,” said Eggers. “This helps responders explain these elements to animal handlers and others who are called to the scene who may have never been involved in an effort like this before.” Eggers says the response to the webinars has been very positive. “We used real-world examples that resonated with the attendees,” she said. “These examples generated a lot of great questions and allowed us to provide resources that folks may not have been aware of. The series started conversations between people who don’t typically interact, but the relationships are essential in an emergency situation.”

This training is also being considered as part of the Statewide Traffic Incident Management conference being planned for 2022. Castillo said exercises with Iowa DOT district staff, the Iowa State Patrol, and others are also in the planning stages as funding is available. Eggers said, “Iowa pig farmers prioritize both animal welfare and human safety. We appreciate this partnership with DOT to help address both issues.”

(Radio Iowa) – The new report from the Iowa Association of Realtors confirms it’s a sellers’ market. The Realtors’ report says multiple records were set for home sales in May. First, houses across the state were selling faster than usual, spending an average of 41 days on the market, which is 34-percent fewer than during May of last year. The number of homes sold rose by more than 11-percent compared to a year ago, while median sale prices were up more than eight-percent.

The median price last May was 184-thousand dollars versus 199-thousand this May. Also, since there’s such high demand, a record number of homes are selling well over the asking price.

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowa music venues are still waiting for federal funding to help them keep their doors open during the pandemic. The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant offers money to live music venues that lost revenue due to COVID-19. Tobi Parks owns X-B-K, a small performing arts venue in Des Moines. She says venues have waited long enough and need the money now. “Every month that the expenses are coming again is another month that a venue ends up unfortunately closing its doors,” Parks says, “and we are in a desperate position.”

Congress approved the grant program in December of 2020, but it’s up to the U-S Small Business Administration to release and assign the funding. The grants are split up based on economic losses. Parks says many Iowa venues had losses and are in critical condition financially as they wait for the funds to arrive. “We are hanging on by a thread right now and that funding needs to come as soon as humanly possible,” she says.

The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, run through the S-B-A, allows for more than 16-billion dollars in grants. Parks made her comments on the Iowa Public Radio program, “Talk of Iowa.”